Applied Economics of Forest and Nature

Course Description

Content

The course covers the following topics:

• Introduction to general economics of biological production and capital investment.
• Production economics and investment theory of forests and natural resources:
• Fundamentals of forest and nature economics; discounting, investment calculus, opportunity costs, optimal rotation age in timber production and inclusion of amenity values; valuing forestland under the risk of hazards to crop survival; forest economics under uncertainty; forestry and climate change; The economics of continuous cover forestry (close-to-nature forestry).
• Welfare economic aspects of forests and natural resources:
• Economic evaluation of non-marketed goods and services and its use in CBA
• Regulation of forests and natural resources.
• The role of forest and nature in the welfare economic analyses

Throughout the course sustainability is treated in terms of how to utilise a renewable resource, and the tradeoff between conservation and usage. A key component is also the handling of time and substitutability.

A core component in the course is to do calculus on economic data (mainly using spreadsheet like excel), interpret it, and relate critically to it.

Recommended academic qualifications

• LOJB10225 Indledende økonomi
• LNAB10015 Natur- og landskabspolitik
  

Or similar courses

It is excpected that the students have a basic understanding of economics in society - the main assumptions of a rational economic agent, markets, investment reasoning.
Excel (or similar) will be used as a tool, so some basic skills here are useful. Mathematics is also a tool used

Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree is recommended.